Pontiac Gone but Not Forgotten, At Least at the Pumpkin Run

 

The Pontiac division of the General Motors Corporation was started in 1926 as a companion of Oakland automobiles, one of the entry level brands of the company. Pontiac soon began outselling its older "brother" and GM decided to eliminate Oakland, leaving Pontiac sitting just above Chevrolet in the hierarchy of the sales pyramid. Pontiac thrived over the years and, following the end of World War II, developed itself into the performance division of GM, helping to create and popularize what would become the muscle car. Personally, I grew up in a Pontiac family. The first new car my father ever bought was a Tempest. He would subsequently get a new Pontiac every few years until he earned a nice promotion and stepped up to a Cadillac. Because of economics and the need to streamline, GM shuttered the Pontiac division in 2010, much to the chagrin of many car lovers. But the brand lives on in the collector car world and that was apparent at the Pumpkin Run Nationals, sponsored by the Fastiques Rod and Custom Car Club and held at the Clermont County Fairgrounds. Among the Pontiacs on display was a Grand Prix, a 1965 GTO, another Goat, a 1967 Le Mans, a 1969 Catalina, yet another GTO, a 1962 Catalina, and a 1968 Catalina convertible.

Camaro Came to the Pumpkin Run

Legend has it that when Chevrolet introduced the Camaro as their version of a "pony car" in 1966, an automotive journalist asked exactly what a Camaro was. One of the GM marketing people supposedly answered that it was a vicious creature that ate mustangs. Well, the Camaro didn't exactly eat up the Ford pony car but it did have a great deal of success, running four generations through 2002. That's when it took a break before being reintroduced for the 2010 model year. With so many Camaros around it's little wonder that a good number of them showed up at the Pumpkin Run Nationals. Here are some of them.

The Blue Oval Came to the Pumpkin Run

 

Over two thousand cars and trucks came out to the Pumpkin Run Nationals sponsored by the Fastiques Rod and Custom Car Club and held at the Clermont County Fairgrounds. Quite a few of those vehicles were sporting the blue oval of the Ford Motor Company. Among them was a 1967 Fairlane 500, another Fairlane, a Mercury Cougar, a 1953 Custom, a 1972 Pinto, a Mercury Eight, a 1964 Galaxie convertible, another Cougar, and a 1960 Starliner. 

Some Really Old Cars were at the Pumpkin Run

The Pumpkin Run Nationals has a rule that any entry must be at least 50 years old. That isn't a problem for this group which includes a 1928 Whippet Six, a 1951 Ford Victoria, a 1937 Plymouth, a Ford Model T, a post war Ford Deluxe sedan, a custom Model T, and a Ford Deluxe V8.

 

Beetles Crawled to the Pumpkin Run

 

The story of the Volkswagen is fairly well known. It was designed to be "the people's car" in Germany during the Great Depression, a vehicle that could move up to four people and be quite affordable. There were some rather famous people involved in the ultimate development of the VW, including Dr. Ferdinand Porsche whose son would go on to create a rather famous car of his own. During World War II the VW factory was bombed out and, after the conflict, was going to be completely trashed. It had ended up in the British controlled section of West Germany and Army major Ivan Hirst saw the potential to help re-build the country through manufacturing. The rest, as they say, is history. The Type 1, better known as the Beetle, became the largest selling car in the world. A good number of those ended up at the Pumpkin Run Nationals sponsored by the Fastiques Rod and Custom Car Club and held at the Clermont County Fairgrounds. Here are some of the "Bugs" that were on display.

Charities Benefit from the Pumpkin Run

 

Decades ago the Fastiques Rod and Custom Car Club created the Pumpkin Run Nationals car show to help raise money for the Shrine Hospital. Since then the event had grown to a full weekend and includes a swap meet, auctions, dozens of booths, music, food, and more. It regularly draws over 2000 enthusiasts and their cars and trucks. They've expanded their philanthropy to numerous other charities including the local school district as well as other local groups. Among the many vehicles that filled the Clermont County Fairgrounds was a rare Henry J, a Metropolitan, a 1953 Packard Clipper, a 1963 Plymouth Valiant Signet, another Henry J, a 1948 Willys Jeep, and a Packard boattail racer car. 

MoPar Slid into the Pumpkin Run

 

Walter Chrysler decided to get into the automobile business in 1925. Prior to that he had worked in the railroad industry but seemed to have a strong sense of the automotive industry. In 1928 he purchased the foundering Dodge Brothers Company and established two new lines, Plymouth and DeSoto. While the Chrysler automobile was the halo model line, he used the other brands to slot in for different demographics. The lower models, Dodge, Plymouth and DeSoto, adopted the nickname MoPar which was the actual internal name of the motor parts division. Today most people associate MoPar with Dodge and Plymouth and there were plenty on hand for the Pumpkin Run Nationals at the Clermont County Fairgrounds. Among them was a beautiful Plymouth Fury, a 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda, a Plymouth Road Runner, a 1966 Dodge Charger, a Plymouth Sport Fury, a Buick GTS, a Plymouth Satellite station wagon, and a rare Super Bee station wagon.